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A single Cr-rich σ-phase alloy with a composition of Co17Cr46Fe16.3Mn15.2Ni5.5 (at.%) and a tetragonal lattice structure was produced. The tracer diffusion coefficients of Ni and Fe were measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy using the highly enriched 64Ni and 58Fe natural isotopes. On the homologous temperature scale, Ni and Fe diffuse in the σ phase faster as compared to the corresponding diffusion rates in the equiatomic and face-centered cubic CoCrFeMnNi alloy. In contrast, on the absolute temperature scale, these elements diffuse roughly at the same rates in both materials. Factors influencing element diffusion and phase stability of the σ phase compared to the equiatomic alloy are discussed.

The 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) is recognized as one of the most efficient devices for the production of high intensity H+, H2+ and H3+ beams. To elucidate the mechanism of electron cyclotron heated (ECH) hydrogen plasma, a global model based on the energy and particle balance equations is developed at Peking University (PKU). This model is applied to a permanent magnet ECRIS named PMECR II at PKU to study the dependences of the H+, H2+, and H3+ ion fractions of the extracted beam on the gas pressure, microwave power, wall material and chamber diameter. The calculated results obtained with the global model are in good agreement with the experimental results. Moreover, a more compact 2.45 GHz ECR ion source is designed and operated under the guidance of the model for the generation of H+, H2+ and H3+ ion dominated beams. Beams with H+, H2+ and H3+ ion fractions greater than 80% were produced under optimized gas pressure and microwave power with this new ECR source.

Nitrogen ions with different energy of 30 keV and 50 keV and dose of 5 × 1016, 5 × 1017 and 1 × 1018 cm− 2 were implanted into the surface of AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel. The micro topography, roughness, friction coefficient, wear loss, hardness, as well as the chemical composition were investigated. Mounds and craters were found on the ion implanted surfaces, indicating increases in the roughness. However, very little changes in friction coefficient were detected after implantation. Nitrogen ions implantation on AISI 420 significantly improved the nanohardness, and the value of 16.2 GPa at the depth of 17.3 nm was about 2.3 times as hard as the untreated samples at the same depth when the implant energy and dose were 50 keV and 5 × 1016 cm− 2, respectively. The wear loss of the implanted samples was less than that of untreated ones, and an optional dose of 5 × 1017 cm− 2 could be used for the wear resistance improvement. XPS results demonstrated that chromium nitrides were produced during ion implantation, which possibly contributes to the improvements of the hardness and wear resistance. The N 1s core spectra showed that nitrogen oxides was found in the samples with higher implantation dose, which had counteraction for the improvements of the hardness.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most frequent form of renal cancer, and is associated with a high frequency of metastasis. While, there is few therapeutic methods can substantially prolong survival. Superior to cytokine therapy with IL-2 and/or IFN-a, several newer targeted treatments are available for the treatment of patients with advanced conventional (clear cell) renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which received improved outcomes. These newer targeted treatments include the multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs, sorafenib, sunitinib, pazopanib, and axitinib), the humanised antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monoclonal antibody [bevacizumab combined with interferon (IFN)-a], and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) complex 1 kinase inhibitors (everolimus and temsirolimus). However, these targeted drugs are still associated with limited efficacy and high toxicity, so there is still a strong need for further discovery of new targeted drugs. In the present manuscript, we summarize newly-presented potential targeted drugs for RCC, classified by drug characteristic, small molecule, small molecule combination, monoclonal antibody, polysaccharides, organometals and peptides.

Accurate and rapid identification of the live fraction of pathogenic bacteria in beef food samples has emerged as a pressing issue due to the serious threat posed by pathogens to human health. Escherichia coli O157: H7, one of the most common pathogens in beef, causes hemorrhagic colitis or hemolytic uremic syndrome and subsequently a viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state under low temperatures in which the bacteria do not grow in culture medium but remain potentially virulent. The objective of this study was to establish and evaluate a method that combines improved propidium monoazide (PMAxx) treatment with real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (qLAMP) for the detection and quantification of VBNC E. coli O157: H7 in beef. In this study, E. coli O157: H7 was induced to enter the VBNC state by simulating food storage conditions at −20 °C. The respiratory activity of VBNC E. coli O157: H7 was measured by flow cytometry. The optimal PMAxx final concentration was 10 μM with exposure to light for 10 min for photoactivation, which was found to completely inhibit amplification of DNA derived from dead cells. When there were low levels of VBNC microorganisms in beef samples, PMAxx was significantly more accurate and effective at distinguishing between viable and dead E. coli O157: H7 cells. The developed PMAxx-qLAMP assay remarkably exhibited both high sensitivity in pure culture and beef (30 colony-forming units/mL and 300 CFU/g, respectively) and rapidity (60 min). Especially for frozen beef samples, positive ratio was 4.71% (four out of eighty-five were positive) by PMAxx-qLAMP method and the mean measured value of positive samples was 2.04 ± 0.08 Log10 CFU/g. Therefore, PMAxx-qLAMP is an effective means for improving the detection and quantification accuracy of VBNC E. coli O157: H7 in beef.

A hybrid ion source with a combination of a 2.45 GHz microwave source and a thermal surface ionization source was designed to generate 7Li 3 + ion beam. A minimum-B type magnetic field configuration that consists of axial mirror field and hexapole field was designed. During the design process of the magnets system, the magnetic field configuration, the mechanical structure of the source body and the water cooling system have been carefully calculated and verified. An electrostatic Particle in Cell (PIC) code was developed to simulate the motion of electrons in the designed magnetic field to verify the reasonability of the design.

Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) is an effective method for specific enrichment and purification of target food-borne pathogens from complex food samples. To detect viable but non-culturable (VBNC) Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) with greater accuracy and sensitivity, we used an improved propidium monoazide (PMAxx) dye to eliminate dead cell interference in an IMS-PMAxx-real-time (quantitative) polymerase chain reaction (IMS-PMAxx-qPCR) assay. We prepared immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) using streptavidin-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles and biotinylated polyclonal antibodies, and optimized the reaction conditions to establish an IMS method for VBNC V. parahaemolyticus. We determined the optimal antibody amount (30 μg), IMBs volume (150 μL), incubation time (45 min), immunomagnetic separation time (4 min), and separation temperature (25 °C). The IMS-PMAxx-qPCR method could detect VBNC V. parahaemolyticus in raw shrimp samples at levels as low as 1.85 CFU/g without any pre-enrichment. The IMS-PMAxx-qPCR assay is highly sensitive, selective, simple, and rapid (

Diffusion behavior is of fundamental importance in material science and engineering. As a result, extensive attention has been paid to develop methodologies for obtaining the composition-dependent interdiffusivities. The present work proposed a novel approach with two steps to extract the interdiffusion coefficients from a single ternary diffusion couple. The concept of basis function is introduced, and this novel method is based on the utilization of both finite element method and optimization algorithm. Utilizing eight groups of diffusion couples together with electron probe microanalysis technique, the composition-dependent interdiffusion coefficients in fcc Ag–Mg–Mn alloys at 973 and 1073 K were determined via both the present method and Matano-Kirkaldy method. A home-made code is written to implement the novel numerical approach. The obtained interdiffusion coefficients based on the present method agree with the reliable ones from the Matano-Kirkaldy method better than previous methods for fcc Ag–Mg–Mn alloys in the present work as well as fcc Cu–Ni–Sn alloys from the literature, especially for the main interdiffusivities. In most cases, the presently computed main interdiffusivities by means of the composition-dependent diffusivities agree with the reliable ones from the Matano-Kirkaldy method within 50%. Besides, the sign of cross interdiffusivities using this novel method is usually the same as that from the Matano-Kirkaldy method. Such a high calculation precision and efficiency cannot be obtained using previous methods.

At Peking University (PKU), experimental research as well as theoretical study on how to produce high intense H+, H2+, or H3+ dominated ion beams with a compact permanent magnet 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance (PMECR) ion source have been continuously carried out in the past few decades. Based on the comprehension of hydrogen plasma processes inside a 2.45 GHz PMECR discharge chamber, a three-phase diagram of ion fraction dominant regions that illustrates the relationship between the H+, H2+, and H3+ ion species and working parameters was presented. Meanwhile, a numerical model based on the particle population balance equations was developed for quantitative comprehension of electron cyclotron heated hydrogen plasma. Calculated results of H+, H2+, and H3+ fractions against gas pressure, microwave density, and wall material obtained with this numerical model agree well with the measured ones. Recently, a miniaturized ECR ion source has been developed, and a 52 mA hydrogen beam was extracted. Under the guidance of the model, H+, H2+, and H3+ beams with a fraction of 88%, 80%, and 82%, respectively, were obtained with this miniaturized ECR ion source under suitable working parameters. A PMECR ion source for a proton therapy facility has been built at PKU recently. A 34 mA beam H+ fraction of 91% was obtained at the first attempt.

STUDY DESIGN This is a cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence and distribution patterns of Modic changes (MCs) in the lumbar spine and their associations with disk degeneration in mainland Chinese using a sample of general population. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Previous studies reported that the prevalence of MCs in Hong Kong Chinese was much lower than in other populations. Moreover, their associations with disk degeneration need further study. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study sample consisted of 442 subjects (53.6±14.9 y; range, 20-88 y) randomly selected from a typical Chinese community. Lumbar spines were imaged using a 3.0 T magnetic resonance scanner. Eleven endplates (L1-S1) in the lumbar spine were evaluated for the presence of MCs, type, location, and size to determine MCs prevalence and distribution patterns. Disk degeneration was graded using a Pfirrmann scale. RESULTS MCs were present in 209 (47.3%) subjects and 593 (12.2%) endplates. Among these endplates, 84.1% (499) were type II, 9.1% (54) were type I, and 6.4% (38) were mixed MCs. Approximately 2/3 MCs were present in the lower lumbar spine and 44.9% of MCs were at the L5/S1 disk level. Most MCs (73.9%) involved both endplates of a disk. Greater age [odds ratio (OR)=2.44 for each 10-year increase, P

A prototype heat exchange and monitoring system was installed and operated in a newly filled municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill, located in Wuxi City, China. In this study, a test was conducted using the system to investigate the influence of heat exchange on waste temperature over three heat exchange stages. During the period of sharp increase of waste temperature, the first stage test was performed, whereas during the period of gradual increase of waste temperature, the second and third stages were performed. The results showed that (1) the waste temperature increased during the first two months after the commencement of temperature observations. This increase in temperature partially counteracted the effect of the heat exchange system on waste temperature during the first stage test. (2) During the subsequent 360 days, the waste temperature increased gradually. The influence of the heat exchange system was relatively more effective during the second and third stages than during the first stage. (3) During the test, the waste temperatures showed similar changes throughout the saturated portion of the waste, which was below the leachate level. (4) At ten days after the third heat exchange stage, the waste temperature increased gradually to the previous elevated temperature. The results of the test demonstrate that waste temperatures are mainly affected by thermal conduction in the waste mass and thermal convection in the leachate. Moreover, preliminary suggestions are provided for the installation of heat exchange pipes in landfills.

Accurate information about regional precipitation and trends in spatiotemporal variation is crucial, both from the perspective of quantifying water budgets and to determine appropriate vegetation restoration. The objectives of this study were to evaluate spatiotemporal changes in precipitation and to analyze the monthly, annual, and seasonal precipitation trends of 85 stations in the Loess Plateau during 1957−2013. The Mann−Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator were applied to analyze the precipitation data. Monthly precipitation trends exhibited apparent regional differences over the Loess Plateau, significant increasing trends in rainfall were found in winter. On the seasonal scale, the magnitude of significant negative trends in seasonal rainfall varied from 0.595 mm/yr2 to 2.732 mm/yr2. The magnitude of significant positive trends varied from 0.010 mm/yr2 to 1.987 mm/yr2. One of the most remarkable findings was that all the stations showed significant positive trends in winter. For annual average rainfall, the magnitude of significant positive trends varied from 2.075 mm/yr2 to 3.427 mm/yr2. No significant negative trends were detected. Although, the annual average rainfall over the Loess Plateau showed a non-significant increasing trend, the seasonal and regional pattern was obvious. Such findings can provide important implications for ecological restoration and farming operations across the study region.

The p(7Li,n)7Be reaction can be used to produce forward neutron beam based on the principle of inverse kinematics, which is useful to reduce the background of the measurement of prompt fission γ-ray emission from fast neutron induced fission of 235U and 238U. Based on inverse kinematics reaction, a hybrid 7Li3+ ion source is going to be adopted to produce 10 eμA beam for the project of CIFNEF (Compact Intense Fast NEutron Facility) proposed by Peking University (PKU) and China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE). To qualify the possibility of producing multi-charged ions with a 2.45 GHz microwave source, a high B field 2.45 GHz ion source has been built at PKU. Oxygen gas was used for the source test. About 200 eμA O3+ and 400 eμA O2+ were produced with the high B field ion source. This indicates the feasibility of producing multi-charged state ions with lower frequency and high B field. Based on these results, a tandem-type hybrid ion source with the combination of a 2.45 GHz ECR ion source and a hot surface ionization source was developed for Li3+ ion generation at PKU. An oven will be used to produce lithium vapor and the surface ionization source converts the lithium atoms into Li+ ions. Then Li+ will be striped into Li3+ in ECR region. The configuration of magnetic field is min-B. Details will be presented in the paper.

Seismic data with reliable amplitude and phase can significantly impact drilling programs by providing valuable descriptions of the reservoir and overburden, especially for complicated or subtle plays. Processing steps such as velocity tomography and amplitude-preserving migration are critical for producing high-quality seismic images, but equally important are surface-related premigration processing steps that can significantly alter seismic amplitude and phase information, such as deconvolution. During land dynamite seismic acquisition, source and receiver responses are affected by surface conditions and inhomogeneous weathering layers. For example, even with the exact charge size, the response from each shot can vary greatly as the medium around the charge changes. Receiver recordings are affected similarly by near-surface conditions. An improper correction or a lack of correction for near-surface anomalies during seismic preprocessing will reduce the subsurface resolution and negatively bias subsurface descriptions that are dependent on reliable amplitude and phase information. Surface-consistent deconvolution can help to attenuate surface-consistent biases. There are several ways to quality-control (QC) this processing step. Different consequences result from various choices of deconvolution parameters.

What do innovative new firms in our dynamic economy do to the value of existing firms? Using Schumpeter’s creative destruction idea, we expand the valuation model to incorporate these dynamics. Our model shows that these dynamics should have a greater effect on smaller firms, those in closer to perfect product market competition and those with less financial market following, as they get less market feedback for warning of new competition. This additional consideration in valuation is named the “real put” as it is an optionagainst value. Simply stated, it is an amount subtracted from a firm’s market value of capitalized earnings, plus any growth potential (that might create destructive competition against other producers) to get its net value. Following Schumpeter, new entrepreneurs and larger firms that mimic existing entrepreneurs are the innovators of new products and services. They create the real put against value in their potential competitors. We empirically test this using Morningstar’s “moat” classification of firms. We find firms with “wider moats” meaning greater product market power have much lower delisting rates that indicate smaller puts against value being exercised. While we are not the first in finance to view Schumpeter’s ideas, this is the first paper to consider its direct effect on valuation.

Highlights • The newly emerging duck/goose tembusu virus resulted in serious economic loss in China. • GTV E protein DI/II is sufficient to inhibit JS804 infection in a dose-dependent manner. • DI/II binds to cell membrane and this binding blocks goose tembusu virus E protein access to cell membrane., Flavivirus envelope protein locates at the outermost surface of viral particle and mediates virus entry and fusion infection, and domains I and II of E protein play an important role in this process. In this study, we have expressed and purified goose tembusu virus (GTV) E protein domains I and II (DI/II) from E. coli, and tested conceptual approach that purified protein serves as anti-viral reagent. We found that DI/II inhibited GTV JS804 infection in BHK-21 cells in a dose-dependent manner, and this inhibition activity was achieved by binding to cell membrane specifically. Moreover, JS804 treated with DI/II specific anti-serum decreased its infectivity to BHK-21 cells. Taken together, this is first to show that the purified DI/II domain of tembusu virus expressed in E. coli was able to interfere with virus infection, which opens an avenue to develop novel anti-viral regents to prevent and eventually eradicate GTV infection.

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) acts as an oncogene in gastric cancer development. HOTAIR could induce genome-wide retargeting of polycomb-repressive complex 2, trimethylates histone H3 lysine-27 (H3K27me3) and deregulation of multiple downstream genes. Additionally, as the ceRNA of miR-331–3p, HOTAIR may modulate HER2 deregulation in gastric cancer cells. We hypothesized that the functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in HOTAIR may affect HOTAIR expression and/or its function and, thus, gastric cancer risk. We examined the association between three haplotype-tagging SNPs (htSNP) across the whole HOTAIR locus and gastric cancer risk as well as the functional relevance of a gastric cancer susceptibility SNP rs920778. Genotypes were determined in two independent hospital-based case-control sets that consisted of 800 gastric cancer patients and 1600 controls. The allele-specific regulation on HOTAIR expression by the rs920778 SNP was examined in vitro and in vivo. We found that the HOTAIR rs920778 TT carriers had a 1.66- and 1.87-fold increased gastric cancer risk in Jinan and Huaian populations compared with the CC carriers (P = 4.2 × 10−4 and 6.5 × 10−5). During inspecting functional relevance of the rs920778 SNP, we observed an allelic regulation of rs920778 on HOTAIR expression in both gastric cancer cell lines and tissue samples, with higher HOTAIR expression among T allele carriers. These findings elucidate that functional genetic variants influencing lncRNA expression may explain a portion of gastric cancer genetic basis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In China, coal fly ash (CFA) is the third-largest industrial waste and causes significant economic and environmental problems. Based on the technology of extracting alumina co-generated with calcium silicate and calcium silicon slag cement clinker, a multi-resource utilization of high-alumina coal fly ash system (MUCFA) is developed and thought to be a promising approach to utilize CFA. As a solid waste utilization system, the environmental effects of MUCFA, particularly heavy metal pollution, will significantly affect its promotion and development. Therefore, an integrated substance flow analysis (SFA) model is proposed to investigate the heavy metal flows and associated environmental effects of MUCFA. With the combination of sampling test and SFA, migration paths of heavy metals are figured out. The results of value flow analysis and environmental impact assessment depict an outline of MUCFA and indicate that CFA accounts for 24 % of the environmental impact and is not the major source of environmental impact. Chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) exhibit similar migration paths but differ in the distribution rate of the processes. 57 % of the total Cr and 53 % of the total Pb are migrated into calcium silicon slag, while 24 % of Cr and 33 % of Pb are found in flue gas. In order to eliminate the potential environmental problems, some retrofits are implemented to optimize the heavy metal migration pathway. Moreover, several suggestions on making standards and regulations for waste utilization are provided to both government and companies for the development of MUCFA.

Aim As a tumor suppressor, FEN1 plays an essential role in preventing tumorigenesis. Two functional germline variants (-69G > A and 4150G > T) in the FEN1 gene have been associated with DNA damage levels in coke-oven workers and multiple cancer risk in general populations. However, it is still unknown how these genetic variants are involved in breast cancer susceptibility. Methods We investigated the association between these polymorphisms and breast cancer risk in two independent case–control sets consisted of a total of 1100 breast cancer cases and 1400 controls. The influence of these variations on FEN1 expression was also examined using breast normal tissues. Results It was found that the FEN1-69GG genotypes were significantly correlated to increased risk for developing breast cancer compared with the -69AA genotype in both sets [Jinan set: odds ratios (OR) = 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.20–1.65, P = 1.9×10− 5; Huaian set: OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.22–1.86, P = 1.7×10− 4]. Similar results were observed for 4150G > T polymorphism. The genotype–phenotype correlation analyses demonstrated that the -69G or 4150G allele carriers had more than 2-fold decreased FEN1 expression in breast tissues compared with -69A or 4150T carriers, suggesting that lower FEN1 expression may lead to higher risk for malignant transformation of breast cells. Conclusion Our findings highlight FEN1 as an important gene in human breast carcinogenesis and genetic variants in FEN1 confer susceptibility to breast cancer.

This paper aims to summarize the developments of high current H2+ and H3+ ion sources in the past decades. The status of the H2+ and H3+ ion sources is discussed to show the attempts researchers made to improve the beam currents of H2+ and H3+. The results of the 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source named PMECR II at Peking University are presented, which may provide an alternative reference for the design and operation of high current H2+ and H3+ ion sources.

U-shaped girder has been extensively used for its excellent adaptability in the urban railway transit system. As an open thin-walled structure, significant difference of working mechanism exists between U-shaped girder and conventional section girder (e.g., T section or box section). The thin-walled web plays significant role in the flexural performance of U type girder particularly. Moreover, severe collision may occur between the moving train and the girder, and subsequently results in the decrease of the structural bearing capacity. In this paper, a full-scale test was carried out to examine the ultimate bearing capacity and the failure mechanism of the U-shaped girder, and a refined numerical model was developed to simulate the damage evolution and the failure process. It was shown that the flexural failure occurred on the U-shaped girder under vertical loads. In addition, the ultimate bearing capacity of the structure under different web damage conditions (e.g., web damaged region or damaged range) was studied by applying the displacement based lateral load on the flange of the U-shaped girder to simulate the damage caused by accidental train collision. The numerical results have shown that the damaged web greatly affects the ultimate bearing capacity of U-shaped girder, more severe bearing capacity descending occurs around the middle span rather than the beam ends. The damaged range (length) of the web has less influence on the falling amplitude of bearing capacity. It can be concluded that the major reason accounting for the bearing capacity decrease is that the original section is weakened by the web damage, and consequently results in the buckling of the damaged web and lead to the total failure of the structure. It is recommended that the lateral resistant design for the web should be taken into consideration to ensure the operation safety of the urban railway transportation.

The article “Systemic vasculitis involving the breast: a case report and literature review” written by Jinxia Zhao, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on March 14, 2019 with open access. With the author(s) decision to step back from Open Choice, the copyright of the article changed to ©Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of copyright. The original article has been corrected.

In order to establish double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) for detection of duck or goose flavivirus, polyclonal antibody against the flavivirus strain JS804 in geese and monoclonal antibody against the E protein of flavivirus strain JS804 in geese were used as the capture antibody and detection antibody, respectively. The optimal dilution of the capture antibody and detecting antibody capable of detecting the flavivirus strain JS804 in geese were 1:3 200 and 1:160 in the check-board titration, respectively. The reaction time of sample was 1 h, and the optimal working dilution of HRP-labeled goat-anti-mouse IgG was 1:10 000. The positive standard value was 0.247 (OD450 nm). The geese flavivirus could be detected at a minimal concentration of 1.875 μg mL−1. The ELISA had no cross-reaction with Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Avian influenza virus (AIV), Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), Duck hepatitis virus (DHV), and Gosling plague virus (GPV). Twenty clinical samples were detected by the DAS-ELISA and RT-PCR respectively, with the agreement rate of 75%. The results revealed that the DAS-ELISA possessed favorable specificity and higher sensitivity, indicating a suitable method for rapid detection of the duck or goose flavivirus.

Since April 2010, a novel contagious disease in ducks and geese, with egg drop, feed uptake decline and neurological signs, caused by a newly emerged virus has spread around Eastern China. Dissection conducted on the dead geese demonstrated hemorrhage in brain, lung, liver, heart, ovary, and enlarged and necrotic spleen. A new virus, named Goose/Jiangsu/804/2010 (JS804) virus, was isolated in Jiangsu area from geese. Then the virus was re-isolated from the affected geese and replicated well in duck embryo fibroblasts and Vero cells, causing the cytopathic effect. The virus was identified as an enveloped positive stranded RNA virus with a size of approximately 40-60 nm in diameter. The full-length genome of this isolated virus was determined, showing that it is closely related to Tembusu virus (a mosquito-borne Ntaya group flavivirus) than other members of the Flaviviridae based on the data of phylogenetic analyses. Our systematic studies fulfill Koch's postulates precisely, and therefore, the causative agent of geese occurring in Eastern China is a new flavivirus. This is the first report that flavivirus infects not only egg-laying and breeder ducks but also geese. The findings extend our understanding of how the virus spreads and causes disease.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct network meta-analysis to assess drug resistances of the Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs for advanced renal cell carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Database searches were conducted to identify randomized controlled trials reporting results for eligible treatments. After searching for PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ISI Web of Science, 22 studies ( n = 7854 patients) were included for the comparison of drug resistance in the present meta-analysis. Results: For overall present, the mean 6-month progression-free survival rates were 65.4%, 49.3%, 60.6%, 70.3%, 62.6%, 41.6%, 38.2%, 66.1%, 43.1%, and 17.9% for sunitinib, sorafenib, pazopanib, axitinib, bevacizumab plus interferon (IFN)-a, everolimus, temsirolimus, temsirolimus plus bevacizumab, IFN-a, and placebo, respectively. For indirect comparison, two combined therapies (bevacizumab plus IFN-a and temsirolimus plus bevacizumab) and sunitinib were of less ability of drug resistance. The risk ratio of sunitinib therapy was 3.64 (95% confidence interval [CI] [3.12, 4.25]), the risk ratio of temsirolimus plus bevacizumab therapy was 3.68 (95% CI [3.14, 4.33]), and the risk ratio of bevacizumab plus IFN-a therapy was 3.49 (95% CI [2.99, 4.06]). Conclusions: Our results support that combination of targeted therapies might be a novel strategy against advanced renal cell carcinomas.

The purpose of this study is to describe a small case series of primary gastritis cystica polyposa (GCP) and explore its imaging features, endoscopic findings, and pathological manifestations. In this institutional review board-approved, HIPAA-compliant, retrospective study, an electronic pathology database in our hospital was searched for all cases of GCP from July 2008 to December 2015, yielding five cases with both radiological and endoscopic examination. The characteristics of imaging and gastroscopy were explored, and the pathological basis was analyzed. All five cases of GCP occurred in a previously unoperated stomach, which underwent unenhanced CT and enhanced CT, and one of which underwent unenhanced MRI and enhanced MRI as well. Gastroscopy or gastroscopic ultrasound was performed on all five patients. Four submucosal cystic lesions were displayed, including three with low-attenuation liquid, and one with high-attenuation liquid on CT. Another lesion showed soft tissue mass attenuation protruding into the gastric cavity. The surface mucosal layers of all five lesions were smooth and obviously enhanced, with unenhanced cystic component inside. Four submucosal lesions were confirmed by gastroscopy. Gastroscopic ultrasound indicated anechoic area in the center of the lesion. A large mass-like lesion had protruded into the gastric cavity, and gastroscopic ultrasound indicated dispersed anechoic areas in the lesion. All Histopathological analyses indicated mild or moderate epithelial dysplasia, and cystic dilation of the gastric glands in the submucosal layers and lamina propria, surrounded by the infiltration of inflammatory cells. Primary GCP has relatively particular endoscopy features, which can be accurately diagnosed by gastroscopy when the lesion is small. But endoscopy has its limitations in the diagnosis and differentiation for some large lesions. In contrast to gastroscopy and gastroscopic ultrasound, CT or MRI provides more information about both the gastric wall and the extragastric extent of the disease, which is more helpful for differential diagnosis and surgical planning of GCP before operation.

Structure ensemble determination is the basis of understanding the structure-function relationship of a multidomain protein with weak domain-domain interactions. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement has been proven a powerful tool in the study of structure ensembles, but there exist a number of challenges such as spin-label flexibility, domain dynamics, and overfitting. Here we propose a new (to our knowledge) method to describe structure ensembles using a minimal number of conformers. In this method, individual domains are considered rigid; the position of each spin-label conformer and the structure of each protein conformer are defined by three and six orthogonal parameters, respectively. First, the spin-label ensemble is determined by optimizing the positions and populations of spin-label conformers against intradomain paramagnetic relaxation enhancements with a genetic algorithm. Subsequently, the protein structure ensemble is optimized using a more efficient genetic algorithm-based approach and an overfitting indicator, both of which were established in this work. The method was validated using a reference ensemble with a set of conformers whose populations and structures are known. This method was also applied to study the structure ensemble of the tandem di-domain of a poly (U) binding protein. The determined ensemble was supported by small-angle x-ray scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation data. The ensemble obtained suggests an induced fit mechanism for recognition of target RNA by the protein.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of oridonin (ORI) on growth performance and antioxidant capacity in broiler chickens that were repeatedly challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A total of 384 one-day-old male Arbor Acre broiler chickens were randomly assigned to 8 treatments with 6 replicate cages per treatment and 8 birds per replicate. There were 4 dietary treatments: the control group (birds fed the basal diet), the ORI 50 group, the ORI 80 group, and the ORI 100 group (the basal diet supplemented with 50, 80, and 100 mg/kg oridonin, respectively). Broilers were intraperitoneally injected with either 250 μg/kg BW LPS or an equivalent amount of sterile saline at 16, 18, and 20 d of age. LPS decreased the average daily weight gain (ADG), the average daily feed intake (ADFI), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of broiler chickens (P0.05); oridonin supplementation had no effects on performance whether before or after LPS injection (P0.05). LPS stimulation increased the relative weight of the spleen and bursa (P0.05); oridonin inclusion markedly attenuated the increased spleen index (P0.05). Additionally, the LPS-induced increases in the concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and decreases in activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and catalase (CAT) were dramatically attenuated by oridonin in both the serum and liver (P0.05). Furthermore, LPS down-regulated the mRNA expressions of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), copper and zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx1), and CAT in the liver (P0.05), However, oridonin inclusion increased the liver mRNA expression levels of Nrf2, Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, CAT, and GPx1 (P0.05). It was concluded that the dietary oridonin supplementation at an optimum dose of 100 mg/kg improves the antioxidant capacity in broilers, as evidenced by the decrease in MDA and the increase in total SOD activities and mRNA expression levels of the liver antioxidant genes, although the effects on growth performance was negligible.

The present study was conducted to investigate the influence of dietary supplementation with different levels of fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves (FGBL) on growth performance, slaughter performance, meat quality, antioxidant enzyme capacity, and free radical scavenging activities of muscles in broiler chickens. A total of 648 one-d-old broiler chickens were randomly allocated into six dietary treatments, including control group (CON group: basal diet), FGBL1, FGBL2, FGBL3, FGBL4, and FGBL5 groups (basal diet containing 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 g/kg FGBL, respectively). Body weight gain and feed intake were recorded at 1, 21, and 42 d. At 42 d, 2 birds from each replicate were slaughtered. The results indicated that 3.5 g/kg FGBL diet significantly increased (P 0.05) ADFI and ADG in 1 to 42 d and ADFI in 22 to 42 d compared with the CON group. In 1 to 21 d, 4.5 g/kg FGBL diet improved (P 0.05) ADFI and ADG. With dietary FGBL increasing, the feed: gain ratio (F/G) in 1 to 21 d was significantly decreased (P 0.05). However, birds fed with 5.5 g/kg FGBL had a higher (P 0.05) F/G compared with other groups in 22 to 42 d and 1 to 42 d. In addition, FGBL3 and FGBL4 showed lower (P 0.05) L* value in breast muscle, cooking loss in thigh muscle and lower 24 h and 48 h drip loss in both breast and thigh muscles than those of other groups. Furthermore, birds in the FGBL3 and FGBL4 groups increased (P 0.05) the activity of total superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capability in muscles, and the scavenging activities of 2,2΄-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic) acid radical, OH•, and O2•- in thigh muscle, decreased (P 0.05) malondialdehyde concentration in thigh muscle, as compared to the CON group. In conclusion, FGBL had the potential to improve the growth performance, meat quality and antioxidant status of broiler chickens. The optimal dose in the present study of FGBL in broiler diets was from 3.5 to 4.5 g/kg.

Negative hydrogen ion beam can be compensated by the trapping of ions into the beam potential. When the beam propagates through a neutral gas, these ions arise due to gas ionization by the beam ions. However, the high neutral gas pressure may cause serious negative hydrogen ion beam loss, while low neutral gas pressure may lead to ion-ion instability and decompensation. To better understand the space charge compensation processes within a negative hydrogen beam, experimental study and numerical simulation were carried out at Peking University (PKU). The simulation code for negative hydrogen ion beam is improved from a 2D particle-in-cell-Monte Carlo collision code which has been successfully applied to H(+) beam compensated with Ar gas. Impacts among ions, electrons, and neutral gases in negative hydrogen beam compensation processes are carefully treated. The results of the beam simulations were compared with current and emittance measurements of an H(-) beam from a 2.45 GHz microwave driven H(-) ion source in PKU. Compensation gas was injected directly into the beam transport region to modify the space charge compensation degree. The experimental results were in good agreement with the simulation results.

Microwave driven cesium-free volume H(-) sources, that have the ability to deliver tens of mA H(-) at 35 keV both in CW and 10% duty factor (100 Hz/1 ms), were developed at Peking University (PKU) [S. X. Peng et al., in Proceeding of IPAC 2015, WEPWA027, Richmond, Virginia, USA, 3-8 May 2015]. Recently, special efforts were paid on the investigation of duty factor variation possibility from 1% to 100% with them. Most of the experiments were carried out with a pulsed length (τ) of 1 ms and different intervals of 99 ms, 49 ms, 39 ms, 29 ms, 19 ms, 9 ms, 4 ms, 2 ms, 1 ms, 0.5 ms, and 0 ms, respectively. Other experiments were focused on CW operation and fixed duty factor of 1%. Experimental results prove that PKU H(-) sources can deliver tens of mA H(-) at duty factor from 1% to 100%. The RF power efficiency increases steadily with the increasing of duty factor from 1% to CW at a fixed pulsed length. Under a given duty factor and pulsed length, RF power efficiency keeps constant and the H(-) current increases with RF power linearly. Details will be presented in the paper.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of including enzymatically treated Artemisia annua L. (EA) in broiler diets on growth performance, meat quality, and oxidative stability of breast and thigh muscles. A total of 256 one-d-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly allotted into four groups with eight replicates of eight birds each. Broilers in the four groups were offered basal diet supplemented with 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg EA during the 42-d experiment, respectively. The ADG, ADFI, and feed/gain ratio (F:G) were measured at 42 d of age. Breast and thigh muscle samples from eight birds per treatment were obtained at 42 d to determine meat quality, free radical scavenging activity, and lipid peroxidation. All treatment groups had similar ADG, ADFI, and F:G during the 42 d experiment (P > 0.05). Drip loss at 24 h and shearing force of breast muscle were linearly (P < 0.05) and quadratically (P < 0.05) decreased by EA addition. The drip loss at 24 h and 48 h, cooking loss and shearing force of thigh muscle followed the same fashion. The supplementation of EA quadratically increased 2, 2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) (P = 0.004) and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (P = 0.035) free radical scavenging activities in breast muscle, and linearly (P < 0.05) and quadratically (P < 0.05) increased ABTS and DPPH scavenging activities of thigh muscle. Increasing levels of EA linearly (P < 0.05) or quadratically (P < 0.05) or both decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in breast and thigh muscle samples during 15 d of storage at 4°C. The results indicated that EA supplementation improved meat quality and oxidative stability of breast and thigh muscles in broilers. The inclusion level of 1.0 g/kg EA in broiler diet was recommended.

Adequate lipid secretion by mammary glands during lactation is essential for the survival of mammalian offspring. However, the mechanism governing this process is poorly understood. Here we show that Cidea is expressed at high levels in lactating mammary glands and its deficiency leads to premature pup death as a result of severely reduced milk lipids. Furthermore, the expression of xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR), an essential factor for milk lipid secretion, is markedly lower in Cidea-deficient mammary glands. Conversely, ectopic Cidea expression induces the expression of XOR and enhances lipid secretion in vivo. Unexpectedly, as Cidea has heretofore been thought of as a cytoplasmic protein, we detected it in the nucleus and found it to physically interact with transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) in mammary epithelial cells. We also observed that Cidea induces XOR expression by promoting the association of C/EBPβ onto, and the dissociation of HDAC1 from, the promoter of the Xdh gene encoding XOR. Finally, we found that Fsp27, another CIDE family protein, is detected in the nucleus and interacts with C/EBPβ to regulate expression of a subset of C/EBPβ downstream genes in adipocytes. Thus, Cidea acts as a previously unknown transcriptional coactivator of C/EBPβ in mammary glands to control lipid secretion and pup survival.

Surfaces with superhydrophobicity are important in a number of biological and industrial processes. Hierarchical film based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and SiO 2 with a water contact angle of 155° and sliding angle of 6° was prepared by a facile drop-coating method. Surface modification of SiO 2 spheres was found to improve particle dispersion and increase their compatibility with PDMS, which eventually affected the stability of the hierarchical structure. Different curing temperatures were studied for enhancing the hydrophobicity of the hierarchical structure. We examined the mechanical robustness of the superhydrophobic surface by using a shear test, and found that the hierarchical PDMS-based SiO 2 films retained superhydrophobicity after 48 KPa mechanical shears.

A mild biomolecule-assisted route for preparation of flower-like AgBiS 2 crystals was developed via reactions among AgNO 3 , BiCl 3 , and l -cystine in N,N -dimethylformamide (DMF) at 200 °C for 12 h. l -cystine was used as both the sulfide source and complexing agent. The as-synthesized AgBiS 2 crystals were characterized by XRD, EDS, XPS, PL, FESEM, TEM, HRTEM, and SAED. Results showed that the synthesized AgBiS 2 crystals had stoichiometric composition, good crystallinity, and flower-like morphology. A possible formation mechanism for flower-like AgBiS 2 crystals was also discussed based on the experiment.

A practical 2.45-GHz microwave-driven Cs-free H− source was improved based on the experimental H− source at Peking University (PKU). Several structural improvements were implemented to meet the practical requirements of Xi'an Proton Application Facility (XiPaf). Firstly, the plasma chamber size was optimized to enhance the plasma intensity and stability. Secondly, the filter magnetic field and electron deflecting magnetic field were enhanced to reduce co-extracted electrons. Thirdly, a new two-electrode extraction system with farther electrode gap and enhanced water cooling ability to diminish spark and sputter during beam extraction was applied. At last, the direct H− current measuring method was adopted by the arrangement of a new pair of bending magnets before Faraday cup (FC) to remove residual electrons. With these improvements, electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) magnetic field optimization experiments and operation parameter variation experiments were carried out on the H− ion source and a maximum 8.5-mA pure H− beam was extracted at 50 kV with the time structure of 100 Hz/0.3 ms. The root-mean-square (RMS) emittance of the beam is 0.25π⋅mm⋅mrad. This improved H− source and extraction system were maintenance-free for more than 200 hours in operation.

Rationale: Primary pulmonary angiosarcoma is a rare disease. Here, we report the case of primary pulmonary angiosarcoma diagnosed computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and discuss its specific imaging characteristics. Patient concerns: A 46-year-old man was admitted for cough and shortness of breath. Thoracic CTPA images demonstrated a high-attenuation lesion surrounding by a halo sign in upper lobe of right lung, and the dilated vessel was also seen in lower lobe of right lung. The sign of “hillside sign” was observed on CTPA. Diagnoses: It was diagnosed with primary pulmonary angiosarcoma. Interventions: Right thoracotomy and right upper lobe lobectomy were performed. Outcomes: Five years later, the patient dead of complete occlusion of the pulmonary artery owing to tumor recurrence. Lessons: Although primary pulmonary angiosarcoma is a rare disease with atypical early clinical symptoms, and it is often misdiagnosed as pulmonary embolism and pulmonary infection. Therefore, it is important to recognize the CTPA imaging characteristics of primary pulmonary angiosarcoma and Surgical resection should be performed to prolong the patients’ lifetime.